Race emphasizes fun, fitness rather than competition

Children and teens competed in last year’s Short Pump Mile race at Short Pump Town Center (photo by Wayne Miller for the Henrico Citizen)

Lilly Snow and Maura Graff were not concerned about their times or their place-cards. The 10-year-old best friends’ only ambition at the 2011 Short Pump Mile was to run it side by side.

The two girls led for the entirety of their heat last September, matching each other stride for stride. As they approached the finish line, their swim-team coach, who was riding a bike along side the race, asked them what they planned to do about finishing. Who wanted to win?

They both said they had no interest in beating the other. It was then that Lilly and Maura elected to hold hands and finish the race together, as co-champions.

“You have to understand these races were fairly competitive, said Gina Snow, Lilly’s mother. “And when Lilly and Maura did that, there were people who were absolutely in tears.”

“That’s something you would only really see at a kids’ race,” said Bridget Cuthbert, one of the event’s organizers.

On Sept. 30, the Short Pump Mile & Short Pump Express Fun Run will return for its fourth year at the Short Pump Town Center. The first heat will begin at 7:45 a.m.

All children and teens 18 and younger are eligible to participate in the race. Registration is $15 per person.

The event began back in 2009. Cuthbert and others at NOVA of Virginia Aquatics helped propel the race into motion.

“It’s modeled after the Great Train Race in Fredericksburg,” Cuthbert said. “The director of that race, Debi Bernardes, approached NOVA and asked if we’d be interested in helping her organize this in Richmond.”

Cuthbert said Bernardes had wanted to make a race just for children – one that would teach them about the competitive aspects of racing.

Last year’s Short Pump Mile & Short Pump Express Fun Run attracted many smiling faces.

NOVA of Virginia Aquatics is a youth swim club that trains more than 800 members and offers thousands of swim lessons annually in Richmond.

The Short Pump Run warrants the help of more than 50 volunteers, the majority of whom are NOVA swim parents. It’s not a NOVA-exclusive event, however, Cuthbert said.

“The majority of the kids who run aren’t NOVA [participants],” Cuthbert said. “We get the word out to physical education teachers, track coaches and school principals all around the area to get students there.”

A diverse array of Richmond area schools have participated in the race in the past. The St. Mary’s for Kids offers a School Participation Award, which is a $2,000 prize to the five schools that have the most runners participate.

Along with a participation award, there are also awards for those who finish in first and second in their respective heats. First-place finishers receive $100 gift certificates from Dick’s Sporting Goods and second-place finishers receive $75 gift certificates.

Every child, no matter the outcome, also receives a participation medal and T-shirt at the end of the race.

“Before I saw one of the races in Fredericksburg, I wondered why so many kids would want to participate in a race,” Cuthbert said. “But after you see the kids near the finish line, they get cheered on by those around them and have these big smiles on their faces, then you begin to understand. This is definitely an environment of participation over competition.”

RAMPS (Ramp Access Made Possible by Students) recently received an $8,000 grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The award was one of 75 grants totaling more than $600,137 awarded by the Reeve Foundation to nonprofit organizations nationwide that provide more opportunities, access, and daily quality of life for individuals living with paralysis, their families and caregivers.

RAMPS, an organization founded by then-Henrico County high school students to build ramps for local low-income residents who need them, will use the grant to purchase modular wheelchair ramp supplies. These supplies will be used by local high school RAMPS clubs, who provide volunteers to build the ramps. > Read more.

Henrico resident Larry Loving, Jr., will compete with three other locals – Thomas Scribner (Richmond), Roscoe McGhee (Midlothian) and Larry Loving (Richmond) in the Liberty Mutual Insurance Invitational National Finals at TPC Sawgrass, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Feb. 26-Mar. 1. The foursome qualified for the national golf tournament by winning the Liberty Mutual Insurance Invitational, held at Whiskey Creek Golf Club in Ijamsville, Md. on June 11. That event supported the RiteCare Center for Childhood Language Disorders.

The Henrico Police Athletic League (PAL) held its Sixth Annual Awards Banquet Feb. 5 at The Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen, celebrating accomplishments of 2014 and recognizing outstanding contributions to the organization. Henrico County Juvenile Domestic Court Judge Denis Soden served as master of ceremonies and former Harlem Globetrotter Melvin Adams served as keynote speaker.

Among the 2014 honorees were Richmond International Raceway (Significant Supporter), Richmond Strikers Soccer Club (Significant Supporter), Henrico County Schools-Pupil Transportation (Summer Camp Supporter), Bruce Richardson, Jr. (Youth of the Year), Sandra Williams (Volunteer of the Year), Thomas Williams (Employee of the Year), Mikki Pleasants (Board Member of the Year), and Michelle Sheehan (Police Officer of the Year). > Read more.

It was another win for Willow Lawn when Travinia Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar opened there six months ago, nestled in the heart of the re-made shopping center. The contemporary American Italian restaurant boasts 13 locations up and down the East Coast, with the Henrico location opening in August.

In the same week, I hit up Travinia twice, once for lunch and once for a late dinner. At lunchtime on a weekday, I was overwhelmed by the smell of garlic and by the number of working professionals in nice suits on their lunch breaks. When we first walked in, I was concerned our meal would be a little too pricey based on the décor – it’s a really nice place. Luckily, the menu has a variety of options for every budget. > Read more.

There’s a ton of sugar in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. Literal sugar, as SpongeBob Squarepants (Tom Kenny) and Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) inhale their own weight in cotton candy and eat ice cream, one scoop per mouthful.

At one point we burrow into the brain of our boxy yellow hero and discover the inner workings of his brain: googly-eyed cakes and candies that giggle and sing. All of which is extremely appropriate for a film like Sponge Out of Water. Because not only is the movie sweet (the “awwww” kind of sweet), but it’s the equivalent of a 30-candy bar sugar rush, zipping between ideas like a sponge on rocket skates.

The story under all this is really not that complicated. SpongeBob flips burgers at the Krusty Krab. > Read more.

With this last round of snow still fresh on the ground, the best way to start the weekend may be at Southern Season for their weekly wine-tasting program, Fridays Uncorked. Families with cabin fever will enjoy the Richmond Kids Expo, taking place tomorrow at the Richmond Raceway Complex. Some date night options include the Rock & Roll Jubilee at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, HATTheatre’s production of “The Whale” and National Theatre Live’s “Treasure Island” at the University of Richmond. For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.